The Savior's Throne

Chapter Twenty One

One by one citizens have stepped up in line and spouted out an insult or a lie at me, but the man standing before me now actually has something intelligent to discuss. The man hunches over, his rags weighing him down. His brown hair hangs down to his waist, a beard just as long, but shades lighter, tangles with it. From the hair, beard, and thick eyebrows, the only visible features of his face are his light brown eyes and long, thin nose.

He clears his throat and continues on with his well-though out arguments. "You are a young girl-haven't even passed two decades yet, and you expect all of us to put our trust in a child?"

"I am wise beyond my years," I tell him.

He cackles, but it ends in a short coughing bit, "Has anyone ever told you not to trust based on words alone?" I smile at the man because I know not to trust words, just as he does. "That is why I ask to just give me a chance."

"A chance based on what?" he asks.

"Based on the fact that I'm nothing like the previous rulers. I'm not on the throne for greed or for power. I'm here to help out the ungifted, but that doesn't mean I will ignore the gifted. I want to improve the life of everyone in this society and hopefully one day in other societies as well."

"You have no power in the other societies and plus there are no ungifted in this society to help." Valid point, but there's something he's not understanding.

"The first step to fulfilling my plans is to change the attitudes gifted hold towards ungifted. Gifteds feel as though they are somehow better-that the gods favor them, but that is not true. What happens if an ungifted is born tomorrow? Will you all rally up and kill the child? Treat him or her as a slave until their eighteenth birthday and then kill them? We are humans, not cattle. There is no need to kill Ungifteds-"

'But the prophecy!" The old man shouts.

I spread both of my arms out wide, "I am living proof that the prophecy is a lie."

"The prophecy!" a woman shouts from the crowd. "The prophecy!" two more voices echo. Soon it's like the whole crowd realizes the same thing at once, but I'm at a loss. A chant rises up and people are stomping on the ground. A gunshot rings out and I duck-three guards move forward and block me. Two more shots ring out and screams fill the air.

I turn my head and shout, "What is going on?"

"Stay behind us," Delmi shouts at me. I watch her raise both arms to the sky and two warning shots are aimed at the moon. It does nothing to quiet the cries and stomping feet.

Delmi and her team pack around me protectively, and we head back towards the palace. People bang into my guards and chaos erupts.

"I don't understand, why start a riot?"

"Because you were starting to make sense. You were saying things they didn't want to hear and so they shut you up."

"I said more in my other two speeches though, why not riot during those?"

"I honestly don't know."

I gently place a hand on Delmi's shoulder, which is tense in anticipation, "I have to go back." Without taking her eyes off the scene surrounding her and quickly snaps, "No."

"They are never going to accept me if I run every time-"

"Every time someone shoots at you?" Delmi says.